After Purchase Recourse Plumbing Problems.
I recently purchased a Duplex. I did not have a home inspection done on the property. Recently I discovered a problem with all the plumbing in the house. You can clearly see that the problem existed prior to my purchase of the property due to the removal of some plaster in the ceiling above a hung ceiling in the property. Should the previous owner have disclosed these plumbing problems to me. Is there any legal recourse I have to go after the previous owner for not disclosing this problem or am I out of luck and it's my problem now, especially since I did not get a home inspection?
thats propably your problem now.
In California there is a form "Transfer Disclosure" that the seller must fill in and give to the buyer. In it the seller is required to disclose items just like this. If your state uses someting like this - look at it. In Cal both the seller and RE agent fill in separate sections. You go to small claims court with your transfer disclosure - judge looks at it - in you case he would find in your favor - in my opinion.
I would say look for two words in your paperwork
"as-is"
Can't help the prior situation, but heard of a concept that blows epoxy into the existing pipes and coats the inside to repair the leaks with out having to tear out the existing pipes, walls, ****Must Reach Senior Investor status before posting URL's***his is called the repiping alternative. Not an ad but you can read more at ****Must Reach Senior Investor status before posting URL's*** hope this helps
[addsig]
A typical home inspection does not include removal of plaster to discover a plumbing leak. One of the questions I would ask is how substantial a plumbin problem are we talking about? A couple of hundred? A few thousand?
Generally speaking if the seller knew of the problem, if the problem were considered "material", i.e. substantial, and if such problem could not be discovered by means of a reasonable inspection, then perhaps you may have a nondisclosure problem, or, if the plaster was put up in such a way as to hide the plumbing issue, then perhaps it may rise to the level of fraud. I would speak to an attorney in your area about this. Don't rely on posts in these forums for legal advice.
J
[ Edited by jorge121 on Date 09/29/2003 ]
I agree with jorge121, if the problem is serious enough to consider suing the previous owners, then you need to be talking with an attorney, promptly.
The biggest problem with non-disclosure is proving that the previous owners did, in fact, know of the problem and did not disclose it.
Of course, if it was bought "as is" then it's entirely your problem.
Roger